Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

36 reviews

bookswithlauren's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Chloe Brown is not happy with the life that she has as a result of her chronic illness and she is determined to change that by making a list and ticking off every experience on said list. Chloe's journey is fun and light-hearted but also emotional and intense. Talia Hibbert has successfully written this book and created these characters and their experiences for people to identify with and relate to. I cannot wait to continue my way through the Brown Sisters trilogy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Chronic illness, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Physical abuse

meghansarmiento97's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Chronic illness, and Mental illness

jaymem's review

emotional funny hopeful inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Chronic illness

Minor: Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Ableism, Emotional abuse, Medical content, and Toxic relationship

ruthiedr89's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, and Sexual content

Moderate: Ableism

Minor: Abandonment, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

km_loves_books's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This story was a delight!  It is definitely a cozy romantic comedy. The chronic pain/ disability reparation was really interesting. It’s not something I’m used to, but it definitely added to the story. As of now, I’m definitely #TeamRedfordMorgan. I will definitely be continuing with the other books in the series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Chronic illness, and Cursing

Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Toxic relationship and Toxic friendship

lindsayhotrod's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Car accident, Physical abuse, and Racism

coffeeatthebeachwoodcafe's review

emotional hopeful reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

this book is so so sweet. it has great fat and autistic representation

watching someone who’s fat be loved the same as anyone else meant a lot to me. red and chloe both working through last trauma so that they can have a healthy relationship was inspiring to watch :)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, and Medical content

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, and Violence

t_higgsreviews's review against another edition

emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

5 Stars
CAWPILE = 9.14

This was the story I never knew I needed. As most people who know me know I rarely read romance and, even less so do I read books that feature conditions I have because they never usually come close to my experiences. This however was different. Chronic illnesses are different for everyone but there are things everyone with chronic illnesses experience such as losing friends and/or failing relationships, medical gaslighting/trauma and frustration at the fact our bodies don't behave as they once did. These commonalities were highlighted really well in this and in a way that doesn't turn them into a pity party.

Another thing that was dealt with really well was past trauma and how that can have a lasting impact on us and our approach to future relationships. I normally hate the miscommunication trope but in this case it demonstrates how we can be triggered even when everything is going well due to our past experiences and how the traumatised part of our brain can shut down even while the rationale part is screaming at us not to.

I also appreciated that Chloe and Red had a sexual relationship in the book. Society too often presume that disabled people are not interested in or incapable of having sex but, for the majority of us this is false. Some of the things I've been told or experienced with people on this topic because I am disabled are so traumatic I couldn't even begin to write them down for the world to read. This book blew that misconception out of the water though.

I'm so grateful that I decided to take a chance on this book and I can't wait to continue on with the series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness and Car accident

Moderate: Medical content, Medical trauma, and Gaslighting

Minor: Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence

jennifermoyas's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Love this book. The characters are lovely and their actions always makes sense. 

The representation for chronic illness is not something I see often in books but I really enjoyed it, and since I don’t suffer from it myself I felt this to be very insightful. 


SPOILERS!!!

Another thing I enjoyed to see represented was an abusive past relationship where the woman was the abuser. I think it’s really important to show men can be abused in heterosexual relationships as well. It is important to talk about so enjoyed to have found a book that does this. <33

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness and Sexual content

Moderate: Car accident, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, and Domestic abuse

lewnie's review

emotional funny hopeful relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 

Chloe Brown copes with her chronic pain by organizing and compartmentalizing and shutting people out. After her so-called friends and her fiance stopped coming around, she decided that she didn’t need things in her life like love. She is just fine living at home with her  academically-minded parents, her eccentric grandmother, and her two sisters. But after an almost-accident causes her life to flash before her eyes, she realizes that she needs to live a little. So Chloe moves out and makes a list that will fulfill her resolution to get a life. But what she doesn’t have on her list is Red Morgan. The big, tattooed, motorcycle riding artist-turned-flat superintendent isn’t too keen on Chloe. She’s too posh and stuck-up to want anything to do with him. But she’s also incredibly beautiful and he just can’t help himself. When Red agrees to help Chloe with her list in exchange for working on a website for his art, sparks fly. 

The good: REDFORD FREAKING MORGAN. My god.

But seriously. I loved everything about this book: Chloe, and Red, and their relationship, and obviously Smudge. This was by far the best relationship I’ve ever read in a romance novel. They really try to talk to each other and understand each other, even when there are miscommunications. And there are, because this is a romance novel– amiright? 

The bad: Literally nothing. 

Overall: I can’t believe I hadn’t read this before. Maybe the art on the cover deceived me or something, because this was sublime. The relationship was impeccable. The representation was everything I have been wanting out of a romcom. The love interest? *chef’s kiss*. There is a cat and cardigans and trauma and love and healing. I just cannot recommend this one enough. 

Representation: Black FMC, Black supporting characters, LGBTQ+ supporting character, FMC has a disability.

CW: sexual content, chronic illness, toxic relationship, panic disorders, cursing, ableism, domestic abuse, medical content, physical abuse, mental illness, car accident, medical trauma, gaslighting, classism, drug use (for medical purposes).

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Ableism, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Drug use, Classism, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Car accident